Monthly Archives: August 2018

Almost all Americans are in favor of medical marijuana.

The cover of Newsweek touts the title, “Higher Office: How Republicans Learned to Love Weed.” It goes into those moved by compassion after hearing harrowing tales from their constituents, how popular opinion has swayed in both parties — especially the red — and how if the conservative faction wants to keep up with the times, they have to change with the times.

It’s true, almost all Americans are in favor of medical marijuana and over 60 percent are in favor of legalizing cannabis outright. That’s an enormous voting block that is ready for even more change.

Since 2012, states have legalized cannabis in one form or another so that we now have 30 states plus the District of Columbia in a shade of green. We couldn’t have gotten so far without at least some Republican support.

Even former house speaker John Boehner, who was once “unalterably opposed” to cannabis and its reform, is now part of a cannabis company, Acreage Holdings. He told Newsweek that, “I kind of feel like I’m just like most of America, who found myself adamantly opposed years ago and over the years have begun to change my outlook,” and that, “It’s the right thing to do.”

One Republican, who would likely ice skate in hell before admitting that cannabis had any good use, is Jeff “good people don’t smoke marijuana” Sessions. Even as Donald Trump has shown signs of support for the plant, Sessions is out there in the ocean of unpopularity, treading water and mumbling about the devil’s lettuce.

Being a billionaire and being Republican often go hand in hand, though, of course not always. Still, think of the amount of rich investors and CEOs who are joining the Green Rush. The fact of the matter is that while cannabis may have once been a partisan issue, it no longer is. The movement has champions on both sides of the isle, and that’s a very good thing.

In order to reap the benefits of the growing support of cannabis, we must continue to be an all inclusive movement and an informational one even more than it already is. The stories of children ceasing severe seizure disorders and of cancer patients being able to eat and be comfortable again are more than tales, they’re the proofs in the pudding and they make a real impact. Cannabis should be re or descheduled at the federal level and all Americans – and citizens of the world – should have safe access.

The North American Marijuana Index rose again on Wednesday, with pot stocks gaining on both sides of the North American border despite news of more tax woes out of California. According to reports, California’s burdensome regulatory system is forcing more than half of cannabis consumers back to the black market, costing the state more than three-quarters of its predicted revenue from the cannabis trade. The Index rose 2.41 points, or 1.07 percent, to end the day at 228.10.

The United States Marijuana Index rose 0.69 points, or 0.76 percent, while the Canadian Marijuana Index gained 5.79 points, or 1.11 percent on Wednesday.

Due to burdensome taxes, California residents continue to purchase cannabis off the black market, despite the drug being made legal at the turn of the new year.

In fact, California has imposed such high taxes on cannabis sales that about 20 percent of Californians go the illegal route. A new report from Eaze Insights showed that in the last three months one-fifth of Californians polled purchased cannabis on the black market. Eighty-four percent said they would do it again because the black market has no taxes and cheaper products. (The term “black market” encompasses both illegal street sales and shops).

Legal Cannabis Is Just Too Expensive

Consumers report that they would like to purchase marijuana on the legal market, but it is just too expensive. In fact, California charges a 15 percent excise tax, and the taxes are a major concern for consumers who are watching their wallets.

The Eaze report goes on to say that approximately 85 percent of Californians have at one time or another purchased cannabis from unlicensed producers, due to no taxes and lower prices. Others said that it is very difficult and time-consuming to find and identify licensed cannabis businesses in California and that it is simply easier to purchase on the black market.

It is not good news for state finances and regulators who are depending on tax income to fund California’s government programs. The state may be looking into cutting taxes to encourage and incentivize people to purchase cannabis legally. Proposals are floating around to cut taxes by five percent, which would hopefully incentivize consumers towards the legal market.

A Five Percent Reduction Would Double Income

Some experts estimate that a five percent reduction would double the number of people who would purchase only from licensed cannabis businesses. If for some reason California were to theoretically increase the tax by five percent, to a total of 20 percent, it would double the number of Californians who purchase cannabis on the black market.

Indeed, some savvy California towns caught on early; Berkeley for instance already cut its city tax in half—from ten percent down to five percent. It is no big secret—consumers care about fair cannabis pricing just as they would any traditional purchase.

California’s theory about what would happen with legalized recreational marijuana isn’t coming through to fruition quite as the powers that be had hoped. The premise was to legalize recreational cannabis, then regulate and tax it. After that, California’s state, city, and county governments would be overflowing in money from those tax revenues. Legalization would have the added effect of stamping out the illicit black market because people would buy the legal product. And with California representing the world’s largest recreational market, what could go wrong?

Less Revenue Than Expected

In January 2018, California’s Legislative Analyst’s Office estimated $175 million in annual revenue from the excise tax. However, the state has only collected $34 million in taxes during Q1—well below the revenue that was projected.

Unfortunately, the compounded effect of high product markups and even higher taxes, as well as local red tape, has hampered legal sales in the state. Licensed producers markup their products to recoup costs from paying for things like pesticide testing and worker protection laws. The state enacted stricter regulations which went into effect in July, forcing consumers to pay for the more rigid safety standards on pesticides.

Meanwhile on Wall Street

A mixed day on the markets was caused by falling oil prices and the return of investor panic of trade war fears. China struck back against the United States on Wednesday, hitting $16 billion worth of goods with 25 percent tariffs, the latest salvo in the back and forth maneuvering between Beijing and The White House.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 45.16 points, or 0.18 percent, closing out the day at 25,583.75, while the S&P 500 fell 0.75 points, or 0.03 percent, ending Wednesday at 2,857.7. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite gained 4.66 points, or 0.06 percent, to finish off the day at 7,888.33.

GW Pharmaceuticals has revealed the expected consumer price for Epidiolex, the first cannabidiol-based medication to be approved by the FDA, according to a Business Insider report.

At a price tag of about $32,500 per year, it won’t be cheap, but company representatives said in a phone call with investors this week that its cost reflects that of other epilepsy medications. Patients should expect a wait time of about three weeksbetween when a physician prescribes the medication to when they actually receive the drug.

According to Julian Gangolli, the GW representative who is in charge of commercializing the drug in the U.S., the co-pays for Epidiolex — despite its high price tag — could ultimately be cheaper than buying hemp-derived CBD products online or CBD medication from a medical cannabis dispensary; many patients, however, are expected to continue opting into the more loosely regulated gray market.

Epidiolex was developed from cannabis but contains just the cannabinoid CBD, which, unlike THC, does not have an intoxicating effect.

For now, however, CBD remains a Schedule 1 drug with “no currently accepted medical use.” The DEA was given three months from the FDA’s approval of the drug to reschedule it to a lower category under the Controlled Substances Act.

“We don’t have a choice on that. … It (CBD) absolutely has to become Schedule 2, 3, 4, or 5.” — Barbara Carreno, public affairs officer for the DEA, via Business Insider

SYDNEY, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) — An Australian trial which used a marijuana extract to treat 40 children with severe epilepsy found the drug has a manageable side effect profile, but only shows extensive symptom relief for a select number of patients.

Following treatment with cannabidiol, a non-psychoactive compound found in marijuana, about one in five were described as much or very much improved from their baseline, while around half reported none, or a very slight improvement.

“This was a statewide study in New South Wales (NSW) and it involves the sickest children with epilepsy in the state — children who are having seizures many times per day, who have been recently hospitalised for their epilepsy, and have failed on average about nine anti-epilepsy drugs before hand,” lead author John Lawson, paediatric neurologist at Sydney’s Children’s Hospital, told Xinhua on Monday.

“The main aim of the study was about safety. We found that there were a few safety concerns but overall those safety issues were very manageable and the drug over all was very safe for the majority.”

Although legally cannabis must be prescribed by a doctor, recent reports of cannabis derivatives being successful in treating children with epilepsy have lead to a number of parents of sick children sourcing their own medical marijuana.

“Many people do try to obtain things from overseas or through local growers, and that posses great risks for children and their families,” Lawson said.

“They’re never too sure what they’re getting and if they are getting a truly medicinal product.”

“What we’re hoping over the next couple of years is that these drugs can become part of the regular medicines and become available to everybody,” he said.

Researchers from the Sydney Children’s Hospital Network have been trialling these drugs for two years following a change of legislation by the NSW government which allows clinical trials and use of marijuana for medical purposes.

While the study’s authors said the results were significant, they stressed that the purpose of this study was about safety not efficacy and have called for further research to be done.

The study was published on Monday in the Medical Journal of Australia.

Despite no official word from the province on how it plans to manage the sale of recreational cannabis come October, private retailers are flocking to Ontario to set up shop.

“Ontario is a frenzy right now in terms of entrepreneurs, real estate developers — anybody within the cannabis infrastructure,” said David Martyn, president of Starbuds Canada and Compass Cannabis Clinic.

“The level of anticipation that’s building up is massive right now.”

Martyn said Starbuds — a cannabis retailer originally based in Colorado — has already secured multiple locations in Ontario. The medicinal arm of the company, Compass Cannabis Clinic, already has locations open throughout B.C. and Alberta.

“Within the industry, the rumblings have been going on for three weeks through very reliable sources that private retail would happen [in Ontario],” said Martyn on the company’s decision to push ahead despite no formal announcement from the Ontario government.

Italy signaled its intention to loosen the military’s grip on the cultivation of medical marijuana, significantly ramp up production and make MMJ “available in all pharmacies” across the country.

The move also could increase opportunities for international MMJ companies participating in the nation’s medical cannabis industry.

Italian Health Minister Giulia Grillo made the announcement in a Facebook post after touring the Military Pharmaceutical Chemical Plant, which is the only licensed cultivator in the country.

Italian law already allows the health ministry to grant cultivation licenses to private companies, but this was the first sign of political willingness to boost production through licensing public-private partnerships.

“The Italian authorities appear to realize that the government alone is not in a position to satisfy the quickly growing demand for medical cannabis in the country,” said Pavel Pachta, a consultant with International Cannabis and Cannabinoids Institute.

“This is an important change in the government policy, and it seems to be the first step towards the establishment of a commercial medical cannabis industry in Italy.”

Doctors in Italy have been able to prescribe marijuana since 2007.

However, the country has suffered a medical cannabis shortage for years, stemming from having just one domestic producer and awards of a limited number of import licenses.

A government report provided to Marijuana Business Daily pegs near-term demand at 2,000 kilograms (4,409 pounds), as the country is seeing an increase in cannabis prescriptions; military production tops out at about 250 kilograms (551 pounds) per year.

If the government follows through with the plan to explore public-private partnerships, interest from international companies will be high.

“It is very positive from Italian patients’ perspective that the government will seek to broaden both the range of products available and reduce the cost incurred,” said Stephen Murphy, managing director of UK-based Prohibition Partners. “It opens the door but major question marks about how wide.”

Earlier this year two Canada-based companies turned to acquisitions and supply agreements to enter the Italian market.

Toronto-based Nuuvera – now a subsidiary of Aphria – acquired one of only seven companies in Italy with a license to import medical cannabis.

The German subsidiary of Alberta-based Aurora Cannabis, Pedanios, won an exclusive tender to supply 100 kilograms of medical marijuana to the Italian government.

Spectrum Cannabis, the European subsidiary of Canopy Growth (TSE: WEED), was also a finalist for the contract.

Every day at noon, Karina Garcia drives to her son’s South San Francisco high school to give him a dose of cannabis oil to prevent potentially life-threatening seizures.

But she can’t do it on campus. She has to take Jojo, a 19-year-old with severe epilepsy, off school grounds to squirt the drug into his mouth, then bring him back for his special education classes.

It doesn’t matter that Jojo has a doctor’s note to take the drug, nor that the medication is legal for both medicinal and recreational purposes in California. Marijuana use is strictly forbidden on school sites because it violates federal law.

“To go into the classroom every day and have to grab your child, walk down the block, give them a dose and return them, it’s so disruptive,” said Garcia, 38, who explained that prescription drugs didn’t stop Jojo’s seizures and left him in a zombie-like state. Jojo can’t administer the drug himself because he has developmental disabilities and uses a wheelchair, she said.

A growing number of parents and school districts across the country face similar problems as more people turn to medical marijuana to treat their sick children, often after pharmaceutical remedies have failed.

Now California is considering a law that would allow parents to administer medical marijuana to their kids at school, setting up a potential showdown with the federal government.

Of the 31 states (and Washington, D.C.) that have legalized medical marijuana, just five have enacted laws or regulations that allow students to use it on school grounds, in part because doing so could risk their federal funding. So far, the federal government has not penalized any state.

New Jersey and Colorado laws permit parents to give their child a non-smokable medicinal pot product at school. Washington and Florida allow school districts to decide for themselves whether to allow the drug on campuses. And Maine expanded state regulations to permit medical marijuana use at school, according to the Education Commission of the States.

California’s legislation would let school boards decide whether to allow medical cannabis at schools if a child has a doctor’s note. The drug cannot be prescribed because, with limited exceptions, it is illegal under federal law — classified as one that has “no accepted medical use.”

“More lawmakers are acknowledging this is an issue their constituents care about … [and] are trying to address this inherent conflict” between federal and state law, said Paul Armentano, deputy director of NORML, a national marijuana advocacy group.

State Sen. Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo), who wrote the California bill, named it Jojo’s Act after Garcia’s son, who suffers from the severe seizure disorder known as Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. The oil Jojo takes contains the chemical cannabidiol, or CBD, and a trace amount of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, both extracted from the marijuana plant.

It’s unclear how many kids use medical marijuana, which is most commonly given to children with autism, seizures or cancer, said Dr. Frank Lucido, a Berkeley doctor who has treated more than 200 kids who suffer from seizures or severe autism.

Some school officials in California say the mere possibility of sanctions is enough to oppose opening up schools to medical pot. At risk are federal funds, including money for school breakfasts and lunches for low-income students, that are contingent on schools being drug-free zones, according to the Association of California School Administrators.

The California bill, SB 1127, has cleared the state Senate and is pending in the Assembly. It would require that parents or legal guardians administer the medical marijuana, which couldn’t be ingested via smoking or vaping. Nor could it be kept on school grounds; parents would still have to bring the drug to school every day. Traditional prescription drugs, by contrast, are often stored at a school nurse’s office and given by a school employee.

The school administrators’ association argues that staffers would be put in an impossible position if the bill became law.

“We’re asking school administrators and other employees to comply with state and federal laws for everything, except this one time we’re going to turn a blind eye,” Laura Preston, legislative advocate for the school administrators, told lawmakers at a hearing earlier this year.

A different school group, however, is asking lawmakers to back the measure as a way to ensure more kids stay in school.

“As more students have started using it to address their medical issues, it becomes a larger issue for schools,” said Erika Hoffman, legislative advocate for the California School Board Association. “We see this as a step in trying to provide an accessible education for a child who unfortunately has severe medical issues.”

Neurologists and pediatricians say success stories from parents offer patients hope, but they warn that much more research is needed to prove the benefits of medical marijuana.

The Food and Drug Administration in June approved the first prescription drug that contains marijuana compounds after studies showed a reduction in the frequency of seizures. The medicine, called Epidiolex, contains cannabidiol, or CBD, and is intended to treat Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.

But Epidiolex is not expected to replace other cannabis products, which are not approved by the FDA. Jojo, for instance, continues to use another formulation of cannabis oil, his mother said.

Lucido, the Berkeley doctor, says his patients often need different combinations of CBD and THC for the treatment to be effective. Children with seizures may require multiple doses of CBD oil a day at regular intervals, he said, and allowing children to take it at school could result in better outcomes.

Medical cannabis, he added, doesn’t make kids intoxicated or sleepy as can many prescription anti-seizure drugs, allowing kids to be more alert in class. In many cases, the marijuana product that kids receive, such as CBD oil, isn’t the kind that gives users of recreational marijuana, which contains significant amounts of THC, a euphoric high.

Critics warn that children might be harmed by drugs that haven’t passed federal health and safety standards. For example, researchers at the University of California-Davis found potentially lethal bacteria and mold on samples of marijuana from 20 Northern California dispensaries two years ago.

“Our concern is the exposure to children of potentially contaminated products,” said Sue Rusche, president of the Atlanta-based National Families in Action, an anti-drug group that says any drug given as medicine ought to be approved by the federal government. “We don’t think they ought to be available to the public.”

Hill, the state senator who introduced California’s bill, said the decision should be left up to state residents.

“The people of California have made it very clear what they want,” he said. “We’re looking at the appropriate balance of that.”

For Garcia, all she wants is the freedom for herself and other parents to come out of the shadows and treat their kids no matter where they are — especially at school.

“When I first started giving him cannabis, I was scared to tell anybody,” Garcia said of Jojo, who as a special needs student can stay in high school until he is 22. “I kept it on the hush-hush. But then, he started improving, and I realized I had to tell people. And my story is not unique.”

Coloradans approved legalizing recreational cannabis over five years ago, but we’re still trying to figure out this whole social-consumption thing. Denver’s Cannabis Consumption Establishment licensing program has only issued one license so far, and although a bill that would have allowed dispensary tasting roomspassed through the Colorado General Assembly, it was ultimately vetoed by Governor John Hickenlooper.

But that doesn’t mean you’re totally out of luck. A handful of bright and bold Denver-area businesses have figured out ways to allow social cannabis consumption without running afoul of the law. Most of them are private lounges and event spaces, but all of them are down with the cause. Here are twelve places where you can legally consume cannabis in and around Denver (if you’re at least 21), not including your own home.

The Coffee Joint might be in history books one day as Denver’s first licensed cannabis-consumption business. The coffee shop and lounge, which opened for social pot use in mid-March, allows electronic vaping of flower and concentrates as well as edibles consumption, as long as you bring your own cannabis (BYOC). Although you can’t smoke here, you can use your own vapes and dab rigs for the Coffee Joint’s e-nails, and the $5 entrance fee is waived if you’ve purchased products from the dispensary next door, 1136 Yuma. It might not be the full-out freedom you were hoping for, but it’s a start — and it’s legal.

The Coffee Joint might be the first licensed place where you can get high, but it wasn’t the first pot lounge in Denver. And neither was iBake Denver, but it was pretty damn close — and unlike other now-closed cannabis lounges, iBake Denver is still cooking. Because it’s a private lounge, iBake allows its members to smoke without worry of violating the Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act, and it regularly participates as a jumping-off point or chill space during big cannabis events in the surrounding area. You can become a member at iBake after signing up on arrival and paying a $10 monthly membership fee. BYOC.

Tetra 9 hosts various events Thursday through Sunday, but it’s open all week.

Tetra 9 took many in Denver’s cannabis scene by surprise when it opened its doors without much notice in February. Like iBake, the pot club operates under the private-membership model, allowing you to sign up online for a daily membership for $10 ($25 after 9 p.m.), and weekend passes for $50. It’s quite a bit more expensive than other pot clubs, but Tetra 9 is right in the heart of RiNo (instead of on the fringes of Denver, like its counterparts), and it regularly hosts live music, food trucks and 420-friendly classes over the weekend. BYOC.

Despite its name, the International Church of Cannabis allows cannabis consumption onsite only once per week during its Friday congregations. The evening ceremonies celebrate Elevationism, the practicing faith at the church, with members receiving invites every week after signing up online. On top of cannabis use (BYOC), the congregations feature educational talks, live entertainment and potluck dinners.

Spectra Art Space doesn’t advertise itself as a cannabis club, and it’s not. The South Broadway art gallery is better known for giving shine to local artists, chefs and musicians than hosting 420-friendly parties, but that doesn’t mean Spectra isn’t cool, man. The gallery regularly allows cannabis consumption in its private backyard during events, many of which showcase local glassblowers and are supplemented with gourmet munchies from eateries like Voodoo Doughnut. BYOC.

Cultivated Synergy is a private event space, not a private club, so you can’t just show up and hope to get in. However, Cultivated Synergy has fully embraced cannabis parties, throwing pot-infused events for the industry and its fans just about every weekend. When it’s not serving as a co-working space during the day, Cultivated Synergy hosts dab-filled shindigs for such organizations as The Grow-Off and Yeti Farms, as well as invite-only parties for the people, like its 4/20 Wook Show this year. BYOC.

Urban Sanctuary isn’t a lounge; like Cultivated Synergy; it’s a private event space that holds pot-infused shindigs from time to time. However, Urban Sanctuary’s events are more about healing the body and mind with the help of cannabis instead of throwing parties that focus on it. Certain (but not all) yoga and meditation classes at Urban Sanctuary allow pot use during the sessions, but make sure it’s cool before showing up with a joint tucked behind your ear.

Studio420 follows the private club model. That model has been tested over the years by various government agencies, and the lounge continues to outlast local persecution. This Englewood pot haven doubles as a glassware and tobacco shop, so membership is only $4.20 per day and $10 per month. The club also operates the 420 Tour Bus, a mobile cannabis lounge available for events and private use. BYOC

Summit Recreational Retreat presents itself as more of an upscale option for social cannabis consumption events and parties. The place accommodates around 35 people for parties, company retreats and any other tasteful event looking to add the flair of cannabis. The 1,400-square-foot home in Parker features a kitchenette, two consumption lounges with fireplaces, a Volcano Vaporizer bar, e-nails and dab rigs, smoking utensils, an indoor hot tub for seven people and a 55-inch flat-screen TV. Summit also offers overnight stays and cannabis massages for visitors, but it’s not cheap; contact the company for rates. BYOC.

The Loopr provides a savvy solution to Colorado’s consumption laws, taking advantage of a law that allows pot consumption in limos and buses, just as alcohol is allowed. The “mobile cannabis lounge” is a massive bus that drives around pre-determined routes in Denver on the weekends, picking up members at designated pickup/dropoff spots who have signed up on the Loopr app. Although the Loopr isn’t easy on the wallet ($29 for a three-hour pass, $42 for a full day and $80 for three days), it offers affordable weekly bud crawls, taking riders on a journey through several Denver dispensaries for just $35. BYOC.

Although My 420 Tours does have a physical location to meet at (3881 Steele Street), all of the consumption is done elsewhere. Like the Loopr, My 420 Tours has buses that take guests around town while they toke up — but instead of following a route throughout the night, My 420 Tours will take you to growing facilities, edibles- and hash-making classes, restaurants, dispensaries, head shops, cannabis consumption lounges and plenty of other places, depending on what package you sign up for. BYOC.

Club 64 keeps its location and information close to the chest, only sharing its Denver address once you sign up. The private cannabis club requires that membership be paid over the phone for $20 on the Square app, or you’ll have to pay double at the door. To add perks, Club 64 shares with members a list of secret 420-friendly bars and clubs, and it brings in a local cannabis celebrity or entertainer once a month to blaze up and chat with members. BYOC.

Veterans Affairs Canada plans to hold the line for now on its policy for medical marijuana after a move that capped reimbursements reversed years of rapid spending growth in the program.

“At the present time, there are no plans to change the maximum daily reimbursement limit of the three grams per day, or to amend the criteria for the exceptional approval for reimbursement of the more than three grams per day,” said Sandra Williamson, the department’s senior director for health care programs.

An internal departmental briefing note from February indicated that a review could be in the works, and referenced a directive from Treasury Board to report on the impacts of the new reimbursement policy.

“Due to the greater than expected use of the exceptional approval process, the lack of appropriate supporting documentation, and the large increases in grams being requested, a review of the policy, including the exceptional approval process, is being considered,” Deputy Minister Walt Natynczyk wrote.

CBC News obtained the briefing material through access to information.

The briefing note indicated that the cap responded directly to recommendations by the auditor general “to focus on the health and well-being of veterans, as well as cost containment.”

Advocates say CBD, a cannabis extract, can be used as medical marijuana for ill or anxious dogs

High summer is hell for my goldendoodle, Monty. At the park, grass seeds and burrs catch in his woolly mop of black fur. The pollen and dust set off his skin allergies.

The heat – more severe every year in the Pacific north-west – cuts fetch time in half. Worst of all, in our hometown of Portland, July is the month of fireworks. Monty is usually affable and calm. But in the weeks around the 4th, and even sometimes into early August, he’s regularly sent skittering down the stairs to the garage by the pop of a rocket or the sizzle of a fountain of sparks. Sometimes he’ll stay down there in the dark for hours, resisting treats – even bacon.

At my local bar, where Monty is allowed on the patio, one of the staff told me months ago that she fed her Pomeranian treats made from CBD, an extract from cannabis plants. She used them around the 4th “to calm him down” and beat the heat.

No stranger to the products of Oregon’s burgeoning pot industry myself, I wondered if her prescription might work with a rather larger dog.

Internet searches seemed promising. Advocates, entrepreneurs and even scientists have advocated CBD as a treatment for a wide range of canine and feline maladies from allergies to anxiety. There are widely-repeated industry claims that the pet market for CBD doubled between 2008 and 2014, with further projections of 3-5% annual growth in the market.

CBD is not psychoactive in humans, unlike THC, the compound that gets people and other animals high.

But like THC and other compounds in cannabis plants, CBD interacts with the human – and mammalian – endocannabinoid system. The precise effects of CBD on our bodies are a matter of extensive ongoing research, but advocates of marijuana as a medicine have long held that CBD can treat epilepsy, chronic pain, anxiety and other maladies.

A selection of recent findings suggest that it may be useful for humans in treating problems like PTSD, chronic pain and the psychological effects of long-term cannabis use.

CBD also supposedly moderates the effect of THC, so it has been deliberately cultivated in certain strains and introduced into extracts on the theory that it creates a smoother high. (Informal “testing” supports this view.)

I wanted to find out more about how CBD could help Monty. My first port of call was with another Portland resident – an English bulldog named Max Daddy, who is the face of a newly launched range of CBD remedies.

Max Daddy is no stranger to commerce, and this is not his first brush with fame. He is the live-in associate of another English bulldog, Zelda, who may be one of the best-known dogs in the country.

The current Zelda is the third in a line of dogs with the same name owned by Carol Gardner, a serial entrepreneur, author and former advertising executive. She started a company called Zelda Wisdom in 2000, which put pictures of Zelda the first in costume on greeting cards.

“Hallmark sells 75m [Zelda] greeting cards every year,” Gardner says at her home in Portland’s west hills.

Zelda’s fame has made her a hometown hero – a statue of Zelda dressed as a Beefeater sits at the entrance of Portland’s upscale Heathman hotel.

When Zelda the third came along, Gardner added a male rescue bulldog, Otis. When he died, Gardner says, Zelda was devastated. So they rescued a second male, Max Daddy, who had previously been imprisoned at a puppy mill.

“He was kept in a cage for his first five years. He was kept for breeding, all they wanted from him was money.”

When she picked him up in Illinois, he came with a fistful of drugs, from Prozac to painkillers. Gardner thought there had to be a better way.

She started researching CBD and tried it out on Max Daddy. “It was natural, it didn’t have the side effects of drugs,” she says.

She liked the results but found the products inconsistent. She decided to hire chemists and develop her own line. Now, she says, Max Daddy is off his prescription meds and seemingly doing well. Zelda also takes it, and Gardner says it has reduced her anxiety.

When I met Max Daddy, he certainly seemed relaxed. He cheerfully submitted to yet another photo session, then jumped on the couch and drifted into a snore-filled sleep. Gardner credits it all to the CBD.

This year, Gardner and her business partners started selling the treats she has developed at fireworks stands in the Pacific north-west ahead of the 4th.

“We have been amazed by the results,” Gardner says. She plans to go national with a treatment she says is a near-panacea.

But what does the science say? At Colorado State University, the veterinary school has the wheels turning on a long-term study of the effects of CBD on pets, including any therapeutic benefits. So far, the results are encouraging.

A team led by Dr Stephanie McGrath found an 89% reduction in epileptic seizures for dogs treated with CBD. They are moving on to study CBD as a treatment for osteoarthritis in dogs, and are recruiting for a larger epilepsy study.

When I got home I tried Max Daddy’s treats on Monty. (Although Gardner says they offer a more consistent dose than other products, the treats, made with organic ingredients, are still very minimal doses for a 55lb pet.)

Although no fireworks have exploded recently, I did notice that Monty’s preternatural chill seemed to deepen after taking them. When we went to the park to play fetch, he didn’t drag me in the way he usually does. A beloved visitor was not jumped on in the way the visitor usually is. Monty stopped scratching as much.

While the jury is still out on the stronger claims of the CBD sellers, for now it appears that the treats do little harm, and there is emerging evidence that they may well do some good for certain conditions.

There is still, however, the delicate matter of the law.

Although marijuana has been legalized in the west coast states, Colorado and elsewhere, it is still illegal under federal law; as a consequence, pot products cannot be carried across state lines, and weed businesses still have problems with banking.

Many people in the burgeoning medical industry think CBD is different, based on their interpretations of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s public advisories on the matter. The DEA says otherwise. A DEA spokesman, Special Agent Wade Sparks, says: “CBD is a schedule 1 controlled substance,” meaning as far as the federal government is concerned CBD remains in the same legal category as meth or heroin.

If there is limited enforcement, it’s because of the varying prosecutorial stances of federal prosecutors, especially in states where pot is legal, and the priorities forced on the DEA by epidemics of meth and opioid use.

“I think reasonable taxpayers understand that we devote our resources to the most pressing issues in the community,” Sparks says.

Although CBD products are widely available even in states where pot is not legal, people possessing or using it, as well as anyone shipping it across a state line, are taking a calculated legal risk.

Nevertheless, CBD has long been used in medical marijuana for humans. The legalization of recreational and medical pot up and down the western seaboard of the US, and now in Canada, means that it has become a key product of a massive international growth industry.

Urban dog owners ask a lot of the animals who live with them. Our environments are full of objects and situations that stress dogs out.

Our schedules don’t always match up with our dogs’ needs for affection, attention and exercise. And our neighborhoods are full of humans who, for reasons best known to themselves, enjoy explosions. All of these things are a source of anxiety for our animals.

If CBD is proven to be as useful as its advocates believe it is, it may be revolutionary. In the meantime, it could at least be a salve for owners who, like me, can’t stand to see their dogs in distress.